


The Traveller and The Recluse

by Amaiamoon



Series: Aliens of Albion [1]
Category: Doctor Who (2005), Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Medieval, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Harry Potter References, Hints of The Doctor/Rose Tyler, Immortal Merlin (Merlin), Immortality, M/M, Merlin - Freeform, Merlin/Doctor Who, Post-Canon, The Doctor is a Harry Potter fan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-08
Updated: 2019-05-06
Packaged: 2020-02-27 11:22:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,158
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18738019
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amaiamoon/pseuds/Amaiamoon
Summary: Merlin: A sad recluse, 100 years of age and still waiting for his other half to return.The Doctor: A strange man with stranger clothes, likes to talk. Has also lost a loved one, unfortunately she can’t return (or can she?)Merlin learns of a new threat to Albion... Aliens.Basically the Doctor shows up in Medieval Britain and helps Merlin out of a rough spot (100 year depression). When he leaves, Merlin has another purpose. He’s not going to sit around moping as he waits for Arthur, he’s gonna live a little and protect his home.





	The Traveller and The Recluse

**Author's Note:**

> ApolOgies for the shoddy description. Also for the shoddy story... it’s probably all shoddy. Hopefully better than my last shite attempt anyways.
> 
> I really don’t do the characters any justice lol, I’m shit at writing speech sorry. No ones gonna read this anyway so I don’t know why I’m apologising. I have the ideas but I’m not actually able to write them... Enjoy! (or not). Apol0gies.

 

 

Merlin was getting on a bit. Well, only on the inside, when he caught a glimpse of himself in a looking glass he was blessed-or cursed- with the sight of a young man, probably around two and twenty years of age.

In reality, Merlin was closer to a hundred.

Now, it’s not unheard of for a man to live up to a hundred years of age (it is pretty unheard of given it’s currently the early medieval era). There are plenty of old crones around the place; village elders, grandparents, aunties and great-uncles, sometimes a mad man with only one boot who plays the flute... But Merlin, although he has more worldly knowledge than these- so called -elderly people, he is not treated as such.

People expect things. People assume things. People wonder why your so sad, alone, worn down and crabby. A young lad shouldn’t be walking the streets like a mourning ghost, he should find work, find a lass, settle down. People don’t take the word of a young peasant boy very seriously, at all.

When Queen Guinevere died, the last of Merlin’s friends, he tried living in a town, far away from Camelot. Merlin sought work in Lundenburg, a city much larger than Camelot where the crowds swarmed on market day, the streets were littered with god-knows-what and amongst the chaos, Merlin felt alone.

Escaping the bedlam of Lundenburg felt like the brightest decision at the time. To start afresh in the country, build a small house and grow enough food to eat, it would be fine, perfect even, but he would still be alone.

And that’s the way Merlin lived for the next hundred years, isolated on the edge of a forbidden forest, a desolate space devoid of all other humans, just the way Merlin liked it, the way he wanted it to be.

:::::::::::::::

Merlin had turned into a recluse, of course he had, all his friends and loved ones were gone, he couldn’t possibly make new friends and risk loosing them again, and again... and again. He would fall apart.

His heart may not be able to take anymore loss but Merlin carried on, still carries on. There’s an incessant ache in his chest that reminds him of Arthur.

‘When Albion’s need is greatest, Arthur will rise again.’

The last words of the Great Dragon ring in his ear daily, hourly, the last nudge he needs in order to keep surviving. Arthur.

Most days Merlin wakes and dresses and eats and works. A constant cycle, it’s tedious. He is swallowed up by this monotonous life, unable to tell one day from the next.

On other days Merlin wakes, but he doesn’t dress or eat or work. The dreary days merge into dreary weeks and months, a year has gone by before he realises and he hasn’t done a thing but stay alive. Alive but not living.

  
On one particular day Merlin woke, dressed, ate and began work but something felt wrong. Maybe not wrong per se but different. There was almost shift in the atmosphere, he felt a strong sense of foreboding.

Just as darkness encased the land once more and Merlin was carrying a bundle of firewood, a strong light appeared in the sky. It was the first sign of magic Merlin had seen since he had moved to the forest, a thrill went through his spine and hope flared within him. Arthur.

The light came closer and closer, like a large star and as it neared the treetops it looked like a fireball. There was a distant rumble as it disappeared from Merlin’s view, it must have hit the ground, possibly somewhere in the middle of the extensive forest.

Merlin dropped the pile of wood, grabbed his cloak and ran.

He ran through the heavily trodden path on the outskirts of the woods and then waded through the thicker forest, up to his knees in bracken.

After a few hours Merlin realised that he had severely underestimated the distance. He used his magic to guide the way, to navigate as well as holding a white globe of light to shine a pathway. However, his legs soon grew weary, he had spent the day farming and collecting firewood and needed rest.

Merlin did not want to rest, any chance to be reunited with Arthur, any chance to find out something. There was a possibility it was not Arthur, Merlin had always imagined him gloriously rising from the lake of Avalon, Excalibur in hand, falling from the sky on a star was a different matter entirely.

There was a strong sense of duty and protectionism in his bones, being the only sorcerer in the neighbourhood and all. If it was another magical threat to the kingdom, he needed to be ready.

Sleep was tugging at Merlin’s eyelids, he was desperate to go on but in the end relented. He collapsed and fell asleep in a soft bed of ferns.

*

Merlin blinked awake as light poured in through the tree canopies and sunbeams shone into the small clearing but, it wasn’t the light that woke him.

A strange wheezing, scratching sounded nearby, just hidden behind some trees. Merlin stood up quickly, poised with his hand out, ready to attack a magical beast or perhaps welcome Arthur back into the world. He really hoped.

A moment later a man stumbled into the clearing. He was wearing quite a peculiar set of clothes; wide-legged brown breeches with stripes as well as a long beige coat and very sticky-up hair. The man seemed to be inspecting his surroundings, waving about a strange blue stick. Maybe he was magic too.

On the opposite side of the clearing Merlin was unseen by the intruder so he decided to make his presence known.

“What are you doing here?” He spoke with purpose, louder than he had expected. Merlin hadn’t had to converse with another human for quite some time.

On hearing Merlin’s voice the strange man whipped his head around and spoke.

“Oh Hello, didn’t See you there,” Was the stranger’s reply. “What am I doing here indeed.”

The man continued waving the little stick around the clearing, when he pointed it towards Merlin he noticed it was making a strange buzzing noise.

Merlin didn’t back away, he couldn’t die so there was hardly a reason to be frightened of a harmless twig. He tried his best to give the stranger an unimpressed expression, hopefully one to rival Gaius’ eyebrow of disdain.

The strange man didn’t notice, he proceeded in moving the ‘harmless twig’ up and down Merlin’s body as if scanning for something.

“Oh, this is interesting, very interesting...” the man was muttering to himself as he worked.

“What’s interesting?” Merlin decided to interrupt but refrained from using his magic to snatch the stick from the stranger’s hold.

“Just...” The man squinted his eyes at Merlin. “Nothing, nothing at all.”

Merlin wasn’t convinced, he squinted his eyes back at the stranger, willing him to continue.

“Tell me, have you consumed any strange substances over the past week?”

“What?” Merlin was genuinely confused. “Is this a check up? Your not a physician are you?”

“Nope, not a physician. I’m the Doctor ‘ello.” The man replied, smiling and extending his hand for Merlin to shake.

Merlin was wary, he didn’t take his eyes off the man’s face as he shook his hand.

“The Doctor, so you are a physician.”

“I’m not a physician no, that’s my name, ‘The Doctor’.”

“Good because I studied to be a physician once and I have a lot to say about your techniques... Doctor.” Merlin motioned toward the blue stick and smiled politely at the ‘Doctor’. He hadn’t had much of a reason to smile over the years and, although the smile may not have reached his eyes, it felt good, refreshing.

  
The Doctor casts gazed quickly around the clearing again before turning back to Merlin, brows furrowed.

“You didn’t happen to notice anything odd going on ‘round here lately did you?” The Doctor asked Merlin as he pocketed the blue stick.

“You didn’t see it?” Merlin replied, it was pretty hard to miss a star landing in a forest.

“See what?”

“The...” Merlin floundered as he gestured towards the sky. “The star, rock... it fell from the sky and landed somewhere in this forest.”

“Star rock from the sky? Ok, when did you see it?”

“Last night, I set out to see where it had landed...” Merlin jumped to his feet remembering his quest. “I need to get going actually if you don’t mind.”

Merlin shrugged his cloak on and was about to leave when the Doctor stopped him.

“W-w-wa-wait! Hold on, where you going? Can you lead me to it, the star?”

Merlin observed the gentleman before him and pondered. The Doctor certainly didn’t seem dangerous but Merlin should know better than most not to judge a book by its cover, to outsiders he is merely a peasant boy, they would not believe the power he holds.

Merlin finds himself agreeing to let the Doctor tag along and discretely uses his magic to navigate. He feels it best not to reveal his gifts to the man, just yet... or ever.

After about a minute he begins to wonder if it was a good or bad decision to allow the Doctor to follow him. The Doctor talks a lot and Merlin isn’t sure what to think of any of it. He hasn’t had a proper conversation with anyone other than himself for years and now... he is accompanied by a man who won’t stop talking.

“Sorry! I forgot to ask for your name.”

“Merlin.” He replies naturally.

The Doctor looks like he’s about to say something but refrains from doing so and they continue in silence for a few short moments.

“Your very inquisitive Merlin,” the Doctor begins again. “You see a meteorite landing in forest and, aha! You follow it, not many people would do that. You also seem very intent on finding it, so... why is it so important to you?”

“I’m not... you wouldn’t understand.”

“I’m the Doctor, I understand a lot of things. Try me.”

There’s something in the man’s face that makes Merlin want to trust him but it’s unlikely he’d believe him anyway so he doesn’t mention Arthur and instead says:

“Not a lot happens round here.”

“Oh, so you were bored, looking for some adventure? Because I understand that.”

“I guess.” Merlin replies, he’s not actually lying.

  
They continue to trek through the thick forest, Merlin’s sure they’ll reach the crash site soon. Surprisingly he’s the one to break the silence this time.

“Are you from Lundenburg? Your voice sounds...”

“Hm? Lundenburg?” The doctor seemed confused for a moment, “Oh London, no not at all, well I have a friend from there, had a friend... she... she’s not in this London. So no, I’m not from London, I’ve been there, lots of things seem to happen in London lots of the time, well most of the time, actually all of the time, they have a lot going on.”

Again, Merlin was unsure how to reply and carried on the conversation like he understood completely.

“Yes, i lived there once, it’s very busy, too crowded for me. I prefer it here.”

“Do you really?” The Doctor seems to speculate him, “Because, just a minute ago you said it was boring. You even followed a ‘star’ just because you wanted some adventure.”

Stunned once again, Merlin doesn’t reply. But the Doctor doesn’t relent.

“And you said that already.”

“Said what already?” Merlin says, slightly annoyed.

“You lived there _once_ , you were a physician _once_.”

“And?”

“Implying that it happened a long time ago. You only look about, what, twenty...” the Doctor pulls out the blue twig again and starts examining Merlin. “- how old were you when you trained to be physician? Why aren’t you one now? Maybe just a lot of things happened in a short space of time. Or maybe... maybe your like me.”

“This is why I always stay away from people.” Merlin mutters before actually taking in what the Doctor had said, ‘maybe your like me’.

“What do you mean maybe I’m like you?” Merlin asks.

A raised eyebrow is all he gets in answer because not a moment later an arrow flies over there heads and embeds itself into the nearest tree.

Merlin ducks down low dragging the Doctor with him. They wait with baited breath until they hear muffled voices and horses hooves, close by.

There’s not supposed to be other people in the forest, it’s unspoken law that the forest is forbidden.

Too focused on attempting to decipher what the voices are saying, Merlin realises belatedly that the doctor is no longer crouched beside him. He looks up to find, not a group of knights on horseback or bandits carrying a bountiful bounty, but a pack of angry-looking centaurs, bows raised ready to shoot.

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry again for the shoddy speech sections it’s probs proper unrealistic :\ Also will write more... And maybe different periods in time when Merlin bumps into the doctor/ when Arthur returns. It will all be shite but I have nothing better to do with my life!


End file.
